07/20/2026
Below is a reflection from Lucas - an incoming 10th grader at St. Francis High School. He and his father joined our Nicaragua Mission Trip back on June 27th. This was Lucas' first time serving.
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Two weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to go to Nicaragua along with a small group of missionaries from this parish. Looking back at the days leading up to it, I could never have predicted how much of a fun, but also immersive, this experience was going to be. Walking out of that airport into the hot and humid air for the first time, many things passed through my head, but not many of those were feelings of anticipation for the hard week ahead of me. We hopped on the bus to the compound where we were staying and looking out the window, I had my first taste of what this country I've heard so much about was truly like. I saw so many people sitting on the sidewalks, trying to sell food, clothing, and water to anyone they could, just to get enough money to feed their families. This was my first time experiencing this level of poverty and it left a lasting impression on me for the rest of the trip.
The next day, our group faced its first challenge: climbing Cerro Negro Volcano. The climb was physically demanding, and I wanted to quit halfway up. With support from the people around me, I reached the top and saw the beautiful view that came with it.
The following days were centered around our service work in a local community of about 80 families called Aquespalapa. That Monday was our first workday, when we began digging trenches to lay around 800 feet of water pipes so the community we were helping could have clean water for the first time. The two days we spent in the community were my favorite because we connected with families living in homes with walls made of sheet metal and roofs lined with tarps, in conditions that someone like me, who grew up in the Bay Area, has never experienced. On the second day, we sat down to eat lunch with these families, and although the language barrier separated some of us, we still connected with them and experienced a piece of their lives. It was especially inspiring to me that even though they didn't have many of the luxuries that we have, they were always grateful to God for everything they had and kept a smile on their faces.
We were also lucky enough to visit and help construct part of the school that the Amigos for Christ organization, which we were working with, had founded with the help of this parish many years ago. Visiting the school on Wednesday and spending time getting to know some of the 250 students who attended was a much-needed break after two long days of hard work. We were given a tour of the beautiful campus, and it was amazing to see children without the same access to education as those in America, given the opportunity to learn. Then, on Friday, our final workday, we came back to finish the week off by helping lay the concrete foundation for a new building on the school campus, and despite it only being a tiny task in the grand scheme of the building construction, it felt heartwarming to know that we were contributing in some way to the future of these students and their community.
Although the AC on the airplane was a much-needed refresher, it was still sad to leave knowing that I would have to wait another year just to experience this again. The labor might have been hard but powering through the sweat was worth it in the end just to know that the work we are doing matters and will help other people in a direct way making their lives just a bit better. Thank you and God bless!
